Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Smart Install Memory Leak Vulnerability

The Smart Install client feature in Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software contains a vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a memory leak and eventual denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device.

The vulnerability is due to incorrect handling of image list parameters. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted Smart Install packets to TCP port 4786. A successful exploit could cause a Cisco Catalyst switch to leak memory and eventually reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability other than disabling Smart Install functionality on the affected device.

This advisory is available at the following link:
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20160928-smi [“https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20160928-smi”]

This advisory is part of the September 28, 2016, release of the Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication, which includes 10 Cisco Security Advisories that describe 11 vulnerabilities. All the vulnerabilities have a Security Impact Rating of “High.” For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see Cisco Event Response: September 2016 Semiannual Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication [“https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/viewErp.x?alertId=ERP-56513”].